


You just wait until mommy gets home...

by Mothfluff



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV), Peraltiago - Fandom, b99
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago, F/M, Hostage Situations, Jake Peralta Loves Amy Santiago, Protective Jake Peralta, Rosa Diaz & Amy Santiago Friendship, Rosa Diaz is a Good Friend (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29606355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mothfluff/pseuds/Mothfluff
Summary: Amy’s shift ended at 7pm - extra early so she could get home in time to help with the baby’s bath.At 7:45, Jake’s cell buzzed. He smiled at the screen showing Amy and Mac, absolutely covered in baby powder after a small ‘incident’, before focussing on the text. It was from Rosa, which was surprising enough, given that she usually communicated only in person, and then only by grunts and eye-movements at most.- "Amy’s gonna be late today."-*-“Jake. Rosa here.” Jake tensed immediately. There seemed to be actual emotion in Rosa’s voice, but which kind, he couldn’t tell.“Don’t freak out. There’s a situation.” Well, now he was definitely freaking out. Rosa never took the time to start a conversation with this much care instead of just throwing the information in your face.“What.” Jake tried to keep a low voice while Mac was still playing with bubbles, rinsing the shampoo out just as carefully as he had applied it.“Small undercover mission today. Amy. was involved. The cover was. blown.” Rosa was starting and stopping, picking her words carefully. “Amy’s been taken hostage.”
Relationships: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago, Rosa Diaz & Amy Santiago, Rosa Diaz & Jake Peralta
Comments: 11
Kudos: 65





	1. An off day off

It had been a weird day. One of Jake's first days off without Amy ever since they'd gotten serious in their relationship. 

They'd always tried to get their days off together before, and Holt and Sarge had been very accommodating with the shift plan to manage that. Not surprising, considering that Holt, especially, had been needling both Amy and Jake to actually  _ take _ their free days instead of constantly coming in to work on some extra cases or, in Amy's case, paperwork and additional tasks she found for herself (on one of her ‘days off’, she’d actually managed to alphabetically sort the precinct’s kitchen and throw out the immense amounts of stale food, much to Scully and Hitchcock’s dismay). Scheduling both of them together had ensured that the two would actually stay away from the precinct to snuggle up on the couch with some mediocre tv show and a lot of take-away. 

They had asked for a change in that routine after Mac had come along. Not that they didn't want to spend more time together as a family - but it simply helped with the expensive daycare and all the doctor's visits and check-ups if they staggered their free days to take care of their little boy in shifts, so to say. (Terry, however, had made sure to give them what he called a 'couple's day' every once in a while, with a wink and a smile. They winked back, smiled as best as they could, and basically spent those days mostly snoring next to each other on the couch anyway, trying to catch up on rest. Man, if anyone had warned them how exhausting newborns could be.) 

So today had been Jake’s turn of staying in bed while Amy got up and dressed in her uniform, pressing a kiss to his forehead with a whispered “Mac’s still asleep” to assure him he could nap a bit longer as well before she left. The rest of the day had been as quiet as it had begun. Not to brag, but Jake had this dad-thing down perfectly by now. Or maybe it had gotten easier because of all the extra help he was finally accepting from everyone, not that he would admit that. It was probably the awesome-dad-thing, anyway.

He’d felt off, though. Spooning mouthfuls of yucky vegetable slop into Mac’s over-excited face at lunch - he definitely got his tastes more from Amy than him - or changing the 16th diaper of the day - man, that kid could poop, vegetables were obviously not helping with that-, Jake could feel something buzzing at the back of his head. Some sort of worry. Maybe it was just leftover fatigue and stress from last week, when Mac had been sick. Or maybe he was being paranoid, which wasn’t unusual for him either.

Or maybe, something was up.

Amy’s shift ended at 7pm - extra early so she could get home in time to help with the baby’s bath. 

At 7:45, Jake’s cell buzzed. He smiled at the screen showing Amy and Mac, absolutely covered in baby powder after a small ‘incident’, before focussing on the text. It was from Rosa, which was surprising enough, given that she usually communicated only in person, and then only by grunts and eye-movements at most.

  * _Amy’s gonna be late today._



Alright. Cool. Cool cool. Cool cool cool cool. Rosa was always short. That wasn’t suspicious at all. Nor was the fact that Amy couldn’t text him herself. She was probably so engrossed in her extra work that she hadn’t even noticed the time. 

Jake realised that the grip he had around his can of soda was so tight his knuckles had turned white, and the can had dented just slightly. He set it down on the coffee table, smiling instead at Mac, who was babbling away while playing with his feet in the soft playpen next to the couch.

“Heeey, buddy~" Jake said in a slightly too high voice. ”Bath time! Guess it’s just gonna be dad today. We’ll power through, right?”

He lifted the little one out of the pen with ease and tried to repeat that last sentence in his head to calm himself down while walking over to the bathroom. The small tub they’d gotten from Amy’s parents for the baby shower was filled up quick enough, and Mac was happily chasing bubbles and splashing Jake’s shirt when the phone on the toilet seat began to ring.

Jake smiled a bit less at the view of baby-powder Amy and Mac, half-covered up by the sign of “Charles ‘Bestest Buddy’ Boyle calling” (Charles had set that contact name for himself a long time ago). He scrambled to pick it up with a wet hand and wedged it between his shoulder and ear, gently rubbing some shampoo into the little dark-brown tufts on Mac’s head.

“Hey, Charley, can’t really talk right now - it’s bath time-”

“Jake!” Charles sounded overly happy. Almost hyper. That was pretty normal for him when calling Jake, though, as was the constant babbling that immediately started up about how washing your baby was the best bonding experience in the world, wasn’t it, and how was Mac doing, was his hair getting lighter to match Jake’s more than Amy? And-

Jake heard shuffling from the other end, some whispered fighting, before a very different voice came into the phone call.

“Jake. Rosa here.” Jake tensed immediately. There seemed to be actual  _ emotion _ in Rosa’s voice, but which kind, he couldn’t tell.

“Don’t freak out. There’s a situation.” Well, now he was definitely freaking out. Rosa never took the time to start a conversation with this much care instead of just throwing the information in your face.

“What.” Jake tried to keep a low voice while Mac was still playing with bubbles, rinsing the shampoo out just as carefully as he had applied it.

“Small undercover mission today. Amy. was involved. The cover was. blown.” Rosa was starting and stopping, picking her words carefully. “Amy’s been taken hostage.”

The world seemed to stop for a second. Logically, he could still hear Mac’s little sounds and the splashing of water, and the buzz of the old phone-line from the precinct in his ear. Emotionally, there was nothing. A complete absence of anything he could describe. That must be how it felt to be dead on impact.

As the second passed, everything came rushing back in double force. The light seemed to be blinding, the steamy warmth of the bathroom suddenly suffocatingly strong, the voices of Charles and Rosa - fighting again - almost screaming into his ear. All of it was overshadowed by the feeling of his heart racing, thumping so high he could feel it in his dry throat. Panic. Fear. Rage.

No. No, he had to focus. Mac was almost toppling over in the bath because he’d let go off him, for that split second. He grabbed him again, trying not to be too rough with his shaking hands, and lifted him out of the tub to rinse him off.

“I’m coming in.” The phone was still stuck between shoulder and ear, which was a miracle in itself.

“What- No, Jake- There’s no point-” Rosa protested after, presumably, shoving Charles entirely to the side.

“You think-” Jake grit his teeth, trying not to raise his voice over the showerhead’s gentle noise. “You think I’m gonna sit around waiting for another text-”

“Jake, you can’t do anything here, we’ll keep you updated, get Mac into bed and-” 

“Brief me, Rosa.”

“Jake-”

“ _ Fucking brief me _ .”

Rosa quieted, as did Jake. They’d promised, no, sworn to Amy that they wouldn’t curse in front of Mac, not even when quoting specific amazing movie scenes. 1000-push-ups-promised. 

Rosa sighed. Jake was already towelling Mac down, a bit more vigorous than he usually would.

“Undercover operation in a money-laundering front. Info was that the Giardilia family might be involved. And that the guy running it would talk easier to a woman. I couldn’t go in because they know me as a detective.”

A short pause, and Jake almost let another curse slip out as he struggled to put a diaper on a wiggling baby while keeping the phone up at his ear. 

“The guy found Amy’s wire while she was leaving. So damn fucking close.” Apparently, Rosa had decided that swearing was appropriate now too. “There was fighting noise, then the connection broke. We don’t have eyes on them, but we know they haven’t left the building. HRT is already on the way, plus Captain Holt and Sarge.”

He would’ve thought hearing that their mom and dad - work stylez - were already helping would calm him down, but no. His heart had not stopped its speeding rhythm once.

“Jake, seriously, stay home and we’ll-” Rosa tried to placate him one more time, but he hung up on her while carrying the already dressed Mac out into the hallway.

Amy’s meticulous planning for everything had only increased ever since they’d prepped their apartment for a baby, which meant that everything needed for a quick day-trip or overnight-stay with a baby was assembled and ready to go. Jake had made fun of it when he found the bag full of stuff in the hallway closet, and Amy had played along, and neither of them had mentioned the idea that it was probably a bit more than just overly prepared first parents. That it probably had more to do with the fact that they were cops, and the possibility of having to ‘get out’ in minutes was always on their mind. 

Right now, Jake was more than thankful that all he had to do was tug Mac into his carrier - 5 star rating on every homepage, extra sturdy for car rides, and gifted to them along with an equally amazing stroller by Rosa - and grab the giant diaper bag before leaving the apartment and rushing to his car. 

Amy would usually be furious that he took Mac along on a drive in his old, beat up, held together by duct tape Mustang, but she’d taken the nice new family car to work today, and anyway, she wasn’t going to be furious at him for anything today, if she was even gonna-

No. Nope. Not going there. Mentally striking that idea off the record immediately.

Mac was still blissfully unaware of anything bad happening, spluttering away and chewing on one of the toy rings tied to the carrier-handle as Jake secured him in the backseat. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, with his heart still racing, if the baby started crying. Probably cry along. Have a little breakdown in the car while trying not to go over the speed limit to get to the precinct as fast as humanly possible.

As it stood, they made it tear-free and safe to the garage, where Jake slid into his old parking space with practiced ease. The champagne-coloured family van was right next to him, big fat Baby On Board sticker on the back. He would have to get one of those for the Mustang as well, for any future emergencies-

No. Again, no. There would be no future emergency anythings. Things were going to be fine. Superduper fine. They were going to go up, Rosa was going to scold him, Charles was going to coo over the baby, Amy would get back with Holt and Terry, there would be a movie-worthy hug and kiss, and then they’d all drive home in the van. Amy would be angry that they’d messed up Mac’s sleep schedule (which was non-existent anyway, but he was definitely not going to point that out), they’d fall asleep instantly, and get up tomorrow to go to work like nothing had ever happened. Because nothing had happened. Everything was fine. 

He hadn’t even noticed, while building up that little routine of comforting lies in his head, that he’d made it into the elevator, baby and bag on either side, and that it was already stopping with its signature ‘ding’ as the door’s opened to reveal a very empty bullpen.

Rosa shot up as soon as he stepped out of the elevator, quickly followed by Charles. Everyone else was gone - which made sense. It had to be around 9:30 by now, Hitchcock and Scully had taken off a long time ago, the night crew was not in yet, and Holt and Terry were…

Rosa pulled him into a hug before he could finish thinking. That wasn’t good. Rosa hugging wasn’t good. Rosa hugging wasn’t a thing, at all. He could feel his entire body starting to shake, just from that revelation. Something must’ve happened. He barely even noticed that Charles had taken the baby carrier out of his hand - something no one else but the squad would dare to do, as they’d all witnessed Jake’s gut reaction of almost punching out the uniformed officer who’d tried it on one of their family visits to the precinct. 

He stared at Rosa as she let go of the hug, still shaking and clinging to her elbow to ground himself - her no-touching rule completely thrown out the window.

“What.” He whispered just as quietly as he had on the phone when he first got told there was a ‘situation’. “Rosa, what.”

“They moved. Surveillance shows he got Amy into a car. No guns visible. HRT is still after them.”

Everything turned into silence again. Guess that was a thing now that his mind reverted to when given the worst news on top of the worst news he could ever get. Moving a hostage or victim to a secondary location was something they’d all been trained as a “do not let this happen, ever” thing since the first day at the academy.

When the deafening silence stopped again, he was sitting in a chair - his chair, to be precise, obviously steered to his desk by Rosa, who was pouring him coffee just the way he liked, with 7 spoons of sugar. He wasn’t going to drink any of it, but maybe holding the cup would be a bit of comfort, a false feeling of normal. 

Charles had taken Mac out of the carrier and was obviously struggling, but trying not to show it.

“He’s fussy, Jake, I’m sorry, I-”

“Gimme.” He held out his hands and took the kicking boy out of Boyle’s arms, settling him against his chest and swaying him back and forth as if on autopilot. It was long past Mac’s bedtime now, and even though he was more than used to the precinct, it still had to be upsetting him to be brought there so late. Jake tried not to pile that guilt on top of the mess of feelings cursing through him right now.

Rosa put the cup of coffee down on his desk at the same moment a low crackling broke through the quiet room. Everyone’s head jerked over to the intercom, but nothing else came.

“We’ve got the radio on, constantly, but they’re not sending. Except for the car info ten minutes back.” Charles explained, and Jake’s head swiveled over towards him.

“TEN MINUTES?” His voice was far louder than he’d expected it to be, and Mac on his front made an array of displeased sounds. “Ten minutes, are you joking, they could be anywhere now-”

“The team is after them, Jake, a full squad-”

“Oh great, so it’s a goddamn car chase now too, is it?!”

He was shortly surprised at both Rosa and Charles flinching, before realising he’d cursed again, Mac now uncomfortably snuffling against his chest and soaking his shirt with a bit of spit up. He sighed and lifted him up a bit more, pressing a short kiss against his head, hiding his nose in the small tufts of hair and trying to calm his short-circuiting brain down with that good, good baby smell. It wasn’t working as well as it usually was.

“Jake, listen.” Rosa had wheeled her chair over to him, straddling it with the back to her front. “The guy with Amy is a wuss. Barely a minor player. Doesn’t even have a gun. He’s not gonna hurt her. He’s scared, is my best bet, and not thinking straight.”

“He’s taking her somewhere.” Somewhere she could get hurt. would get hurt. could die. would-

The radio crackled again, a more than familiar voice sounding far less composed than usual. Holt.

_ Suspect and hostage stopped, entered storage facility at 2nd Ave and 33rd Street. No visible firearms _ .

A short pause. 

_ Suspect seems to be in possession of a knife _ _. _

That was more information than Holt would usually care to give during such a situation, especially the repeat of no firearms. He was obviously aware they were listening in, and tried to assuage their fears. Did he suspect Jake to be here too? Had he given the order to call him, or was that Charles’ decision, or Rosa’s, or did it matter at all, did anything about this matter at the moment except for the fact that the fucker had a knife, a knife to Amy’s back, or her throat, that she was maybe already hurt, already-

“They’re on his heels, Jake. Holt and Terry are right in there. Getting Amy back.” Rosa tried to pull him back out of the trance he had very obviously gone into, stopping to sway Mac entirely and just staring off into the deep. He fixed his look on her instead, and there was something very unsettling in his eyes.

“Why aren’t you there?” 

“Jake-”

“Why aren’t you with them? Someone needs to stay back for info, but Charles is already here and- why are you here?” He didn’t want to sound angry, or accusing, but he failed. He didn’t even want to speak at all, right now, but his brain was repeatedly making decisions without consulting him, and he could see Rosa’s shoulders raise as if in defense, before they dropped down again.

“Holt didn’t want me on. Said he was worried I might get. ‘too emotional’. Cause problems. Unable to stay calm and objective.” She answered through gritted teeth, spitting the last words with venom not directed at Jake, but rather at the situation itself.

It made sense. Charles could never have gone with them, he’d be an absolute wreck at the mere thought of endangering Jake’s wife and the mother of Jake’s son, but Rosa… Rosa would be ready to gut the bastard threatening her girl. Ready to leap into action far too quickly and with way too much bloodshed.

Jake realised though, that at this moment, he wouldn’t actually care about doing things professionally and bringing the perp in for processing. If he was lying on the floor of some storage unit, bleeding out through his stomach where Rosa had ripped out his lower intestine, Jake would be just fine with that.

Maybe it was good that Holt was stoic and clear enough to stop that from happening.

Mac was getting fussy again, pulling Jake out of his blood-filled reverie. Charles was ready to rifle through the giant bag of baby things as soon as Jake asked him for whatever he needed to calm him - a bottle, maybe, a soft toy, he couldn’t even remember what else was all in there - when the radio sounded again with Terry’s voice.

_ Shots fired. Going in. Repeat, going in, full squad. _

The radio fell silent, and Mac started wailing. 


	2. safe and sound

Nothing could calm the baby down. No swaying, no offerings of pacifiers or cuddly plushies pulled from the overnight bag, no little song and dance routine from Charles (and that, they all grudgingly had to admit, usually worked wonders).

Mac was crying non-stop, turning the heads of the few people still left at the precinct and earning the three detectives some very angry grumbles about workplace professionality. Not that they gave much of a fuck at the moment, far more focussed on trying to calm the baby down so they could hear anything new over the radio.

Nothing came. No crackling, no words, nothing. Just the constant high-pitched scream of Mac in Jake’s ear, and a deafening ringing in his other, clearly brought on by another moment of nothingness.

He hadn’t even realised he was shaking again, not really swaying the baby in his arms but rather just shivering as if someone had pulled him out of an ice-cold river, until Rosa lifted Mac away from him and there was nothing to hold onto anymore.

“You’re stressing him out, Jake, your whole body language-”

Only a few seconds in Auntie Ro-Ro’s strong, steady arms, and Mac’s wailing turned into little snuffles and hiccups before dying down completely. Jake stared at the two of them, yet through them, his mind racing into all the wrong directions again. He could do nothing to help Amy, to save her from.. whatever was happening, and now he couldn’t even help his own son, but instead was making things worse. Messing it up. Like always. Of course. He was useless as-

Rosa snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, the baby now settled on her waist with one arm around him like a seasoned pro at baby-sitting. 

“Hey. No turning off on us again. Pull yourself together.”

“Shots, Rosa.” He answered completely out of the blue, the rage suddenly bubbling up where sadness had only just taken hold. “SHOTS. You said there was no gun. Holt said there was no gun. Then why are there shots?!”

“I don’t know, bud, I don’t know! Maybe there was someone in the storage facility - or maybe someone from HRT was already in -”

“What if Amy was shot, what if she’s- if there was someone from the Giardilia family in the storage lockers, if some Mafia bad boy recognised her as a cop- she’s out on patrol so much now-”   
Mac was sniffling, setting up for another cry-fest just from hearing his dad’s voice in a form of fear and anger he’d never heard before. Rosa quickly held up a finger - enough to shush Jake immediately - while swaying the little guy on her side to settle him down again. 

“Hey.” Her voice was quiet - emotionless to some, maybe, but definitely calm now to Jake and his racing mind and the myriad of possible images that flashed past his inner eye. “We don’t know what’s happened, but we also can’t go thinking up all the worst case scenarios. We do what we do - wait for more info. That’s how this works.”

Jake dropped back down into his chair, trying not to stare at the radio. What if the next info was… he could hear Holt’s voice in his head, or maybe even Terry’s.  _ Hostage down. Send medic.  _

But there was still no further radio message. Jake let his head drop, slumped forward in his chair, shoulders down and overall the very picture of someone at the end of their rope, before taking a big breath and rubbing his hand all over his face, trying to ignore the cold scratch of his wedding ring across his nose. He had to stop getting lost in whatever new form of panic his brain had been producing for the last hour. Sure, detective Jake would’ve been up and running, trying to figure out a way to help even from the distance of the precinct. And sure, husband Jake was contemplating swerving the Mustang around, switching on the radio he always carried with him to get coordinates and find the damn bastard himself so he could shoot him. And maybe irresponsible younger Jake, pre-Amy Jake, in the back of his head, was screaming to run and hide in the evidence lock-up until this all blew over.

But right now, all he could be was dad Jake. And dad Jake had to get his shit together, listen to the advice of his son’s godmother and take care of his kid.

He lifted his hands up towards Rosa, much like he’d done earlier to take Mac out of Charles’ arms, but Rosa hesitated a lot more than he had.

“You sure? I can hold him if you need a minute-”

“No, no.” Jake wriggled his fingers with a sigh. “Gimme my homemade teddy bear. Nothing better to calm down, right?”   
He saw, just for a split second, a genuine smile break on the corner of Rosa’s mouth before she handed the baby back to him, no more crying or wailing in sight.

-*- 

Mac was soon falling asleep on his chest, snuffling and kneading his tiny little hands around the flannel fabric of Jake’s shirt. The room seemed completely silent otherwise, all three of them still shooting looks towards the radio repeatedly. Any attempts at ‘chatter’ between them had died down long ago.

“It must’ve been half an hour now.” Charles mumbled more to himself, his eyebrows knit together with worry. 

“No call for a medic. That’s good news.” Rosa interjected before the fear-cry-panic cycle could start up again in either of the Peraltas.

“Either that, or the worst news.” Jake deadpanned back, not looking at them, instead staring into nothing while carefully stroking up and down Mac’s back to lull him into sleep.

“Jakey, no-” Charles tried to start, but was interrupted by the ‘ding’ of the elevator.

He could see Terry, giant yet gentle beast of a man decked out in full gear. He could see Holt, equally as tall, yet definitely less terrifying in stature, the usual blank unreadable expression on his face.

And in between them, he could see Amy. Right there. Walking out of the elevator, flanked by the two men as if they still needed to protect her from all sides. She was right there.  _ Right there _ . Walking into the bullpen. His Amy.

Rosa needed absolutely no instructions to immediately grab Mac out of his arms again as he shot up, and he didn’t have to spend a single second questioning whether he  _ should  _ hand over his son right now before running towards his wife. Auntie Ro-Ro was on stand-by, no matter what.

Jake had no time to even think about whether or not the moment was as movie-worthy as his imagination had made it back when he was trying to calm himself down in the car, but later reflection would definitely make him realise that it was. He sprinted across the bullpen in the blink of an eye, full-on tackling Amy into a hug so tight it could almost hurt if it didn’t feel just perfectly right, burying his face in her hair and gripping her back with both hands while he felt her arms run around his shoulders, locking him in just as tightly. The breath he’d been unconsciously holding ever since the elevator opened rushed out of him with a stutter, an almost silent “Ames..” inbetween.

She was first to pull back, only enough to get her face in front of his’ without either of them letting go, and quickly closing the distance again for a kiss. And as chaste as it was - Amy’s mind clearly more ready to consider that they were at work with their bosses right next to them- it still felt like the best kiss he’d ever gotten from anyone in his life. 

Time and space around them seemed to stop completely once more, but not out of panic or fear this time. And unlike before, he could actually feel something -  _ Amy, _ her always-a-bit-cold hands on his face, that trademark scent of fruity shampoo and vanilla-ish foundation on her neck, the left-over taste of tea permanently staining her lips. She was here, right here, and she was okay, back at his side, safe and sound.

He was still caught up in that revelry while staring at his wife when she turned ever so slightly in his arms, and Jake hadn’t even noticed Rosa stepping up to them with a now completely asleep Mac.

“This is yours, I guess.” She mumbled as she handed him over to Amy, who settled the sleeping baby against her chest and buried her nose in his hair, just like Jake had done a while ago. That good, good baby smell to calm you down always worked. Amy looked up again after another sniff and smiled, so soft and small and tired that he wanted to wrap her into a blanket immediately and rock her to sleep just like the little guy in her arms.

“So what happened? The radio completely cut out after the… after you went in.” Charles asked while looking at Holt, who’d carefully passed the hugging couple to seemingly get back into his office.

“Yes, the situation immediately became too active to continue radio contact. HRT arrived at the scene of the shooting before Sargent Jeffords and I, however, they were not in position to offer aid any more than we were. Sargent Santiago had already pinned the suspect down after disabling him with a clear shot to the thigh. He is currently being transferred to the hospital by two officers.”

“Wha-but- Amy, you went in undercover without a gun, didn’t you?” Charles’ eyes almost bulged out of his head as it spun from Holt to Amy and back.

Amy nodded shyly.

“I, well, I had a small handgun holstered to my calf.” She explained with a side-way glance to Rosa, who nodded approvingly. “Got it from Rosa for my birthday last year.” 

She was obviously expecting a  _ Noice  _ or  _ Smort  _ from Jake while Charles gave his trademark  _ Oooh _ , but nothing came except that he pulled her slightly closer into their half-hug with the baby on their side. 

_ She’d protected herself and come prepared. Of course she did. How did he ever doubt it? _

“Well, thank f-” Rosa stopped and shot a quick look down at Mac, realising that the no-swearing-rule was obviously back on track. “Thank god, I guess, for hidden weapons, am I right?”   
When she received a sly grin from Amy, but a very stern headshake from Terry, Rosa shrugged and held out her hand.

“Anyway, I’d say it’s time for you two - three - to get home and get some sleep. Gimme your keys, I can drive you.”

“I can drive you too, I can take the subway back-” Charles interjected, and even Terry stepped up to say something before Holt re-appeared beside the small group, a sleek black leather purse held as uncomfortably in his hand as was humanly possible.

“Sargent Santiago, detective Peralta, I will accompany you back to your apartment. I do not think either of you are at the right mental capacity to operate a vehicle right now, so I will do it. Santiago, I assume the keys to your family’s car are in your bag? You asked me to store it safely in my office before leaving for your undercover assignment.”

“Y-yes, captain.” Amy nodded as Jake absentmindedly mumbled about his car being in the garage as well and her eyes turned to him. “ _ You took Mac in the Must- _ ”

“Ames.” Jake squeezed her waist, which he was still holding on to, and the look on his face immediately washed all concern and scorn from hers. It really wasn’t the time.

“Very well.” Holt continued. “Detective Boyle, please aid us in carrying the child’s belongings down to the garage. Jeffords, Diaz, I expect the report for today’s… mission on my desk before you leave for the day. I will return to the precinct via subway, so I assume you will have taken your leave by then.”

A flurry of  _ “Yes, captain” _ erupted and everyone around them started to move. Turning towards the elevator without even a good-bye - not like anyone would complain about it right now - Jake felt a hand calmly land on his shoulder, the one not wrapped around Amy. He looked up as he felt a soft squeeze, but luckily Holt dropped it as soon as they stepped out of the bullpen, or Jake would’ve turned into a blubbering mess yet again. 

Inside the elevator and all the way down into the garage was a quiet walk - well, safe for Charles babbling away again, both happy and nervous and full of very weird energy now that everything seemed to be over. He was babbling as Jake fished the car keys out of Amy’s purse to hand over to Holt, he was babbling as Amy strapped Mac and his carrier into the backseat and shuffled in next to him, and he was babbling as Jake turned to him, the only one still outside the car as Holt was already adjusting the driver’s seat and rear mirror with perfect precision.

“-and I know Rosa did a lot of good work today, she’s really got a connection with mini-Mac, doesn’t she, I mean, obviously, that’s why you picked her as the other godparent, but I’m sure I can-”

“Hey.” Jake managed a lop-sided grin, knowing his best friend well enough to realise that the poor guy was basically scolding himself for not doing ‘the perfect thing’ this evening, and knowing exactly what he had to say to calm him down again. “Thanks for your help today, Chuck. You’re the best.”   
Charles’ face lit up before he tackled him into a patented Boyle-hug with a beaming smile. “No, Jake,  _ you’re _ the best.”

“Well, I guess. Anyway. Gots to dash, Holt’s gonna drive off without me any minute. Mind how you go. I’ll see you, bud.” He gave him a few more pats on the back before unlinking himself from the hug and getting into the passenger side as quickly as he could, Charles standing aside and waving them goodbye until they were out of the garage.

The radio was set extra low, on some mediocre pop station, and Jake couldn’t even remember if it had been on on the drive here. He let out a sigh just as quietly and dropped back against the headrest, a quick glance into the rear mirror to see Amy slumped over, Mac’s little hand in hers, fast asleep from the stress of the events and the hum of the car ride. Holt’s eyes seemed to have followed, or maybe he was just adhering to the proper procedures for driving.

“Santiago was very brave today. I truly commend her.” He started out of nowhere, and Jake couldn’t help but smile. Too bad she couldn’t hear their captain’s praises, but he was definitely going to quote it back to her later.

“Yeah, she’s a trooper.” 

“And so were you, I assume, even though I was not present at the precinct. Brave, I mean. Not simply, and I quote, ‘a trooper’, end of quote.”

“Oh no. I was a complete mess.” Jake sank a bit lower down, and in any other situation Holt would’ve scolded him for not sitting properly for the seatbelt to do its duty, but he surprisingly let it slide. 

“Yes, I expected as much. It is not surprising that you were emotionally incapacitated, given the situation with your spouse. However, you made the right decision to seek aid from your friends and colleagues by coming to the precinct, and making sure your son was taken care of even on the chance that you did not feel up to the task. Admitting your own problems and fears and accepting help is an act of bravery in itself. It is not always about rushing into danger, ‘guns blazing’, as you would probably say.”

The next few streets passed in silence, as it took everything he had left in him for Jake not to cry  _ now _ , after everything. 

“I ensured that Amy was seen by a medic, even though she insisted it was not necessary. They reported no injuries, only a few minor bruises that apparently should not be concerning. I will still fill out a form for a ‘sick day’ for tomorrow. As well as one for you. Please ensure that she takes the time to rest, and does not try to get additional work done as usual.” Holt continued after the next turn, and Jake could only nod. He felt the tiredness finally seeping into his bones, able to let go after stressing for hours. Amy was fine. She was taken care of. Of course Holt had made sure of that.

When they stopped on the sidewalk before their apartment, Holt perfectly backing into the parking space that was miraculously free, Amy shook awake again almost by instinct.

“Thanks, captain.” Jake mumbled as he hopped over the curb, too late to open the car door for Amy that Holt already held ajar, and a quick nod and glance between the men made it clear that his boss had understood just how much he thanked him for.

Jake hefted the overnight bag onto his shoulder and took the car- and house-keys offered by the captain while saying his good-byes, as Amy unbuckled Mac and his carrier and already stepped up to their front door.

A deep sigh left his chest only when they got into the elevator up to their floor, both leaning against the wall with a weight to their shoulders, and he dropped his head to the side of her shoulder as she immediately leant against him as well.

“Wish I coulda carried you up here so you didn’t have to wake up.” He mumbled and could hear her soft snort.

“You can barely take the stairs by yourself without complaining about your sore legs. Sure you want to juggle a baby bag, a carrier, and a wife?”   
“What, you’re saying I couldn’t do it? I’ll prove it to you. Tomorrow, immediately. After some rest. And a good breakfast. And some stretching.”

She snickered again, and nothing ever sounded as wonderful as Amy relaxing into that quiet little laughter.

“Okay, but we’re going to sub Mac for a few bags of flour in the carrier. I’m not risking that.”

“Smort.” He pressed a kiss against her cheek as the elevator stopped, and was rewarded with a proper kiss before stepping out.

Staying a few steps behind them, Jake watched Amy and Mac walking towards their apartment door - a sight he was so very used to, and now felt like he never truly had appreciated. Here they were, the two most important people in his world, walking down the corridor like they did every day, as if nothing had really happened, as if everything was fine and the world hadn’t turned on its axis and almost burned down entirely for him just an hour ago. 

He felt a sense of quiet lull over him that was very different from all the silences he’d felt today. Everything  _ was _ fine. Amy was here, Mac was actually asleep and might not have messed up his sleep schedule at all, once they got inside they’d fall asleep instantly as well, and get up tomorrow, not go to work, yet act like nothing had ever happened. Because nothing had happened. Everything was fine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I kinda got lost into the whole 'inbetween' bit, so everything that was supposed to happen in chapter 2 will now... become chapter 3, a sort of epilogue to the whole day.

**Author's Note:**

> my first B99 fic :3  
> I do love me some comments. <3 Don't be shy.


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